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Frequently asked questions about redundancy

When the actual length of your service for redundancy payment purposes is
being calculated, the following periods over the last 3 years are included in
the calculation:

Any period of absence from work due to illness up to 26 consecutive weeks

Any period up to 52 consecutive weeks where you were off work due to an
injury at work

If you are out sick, then return to work, go out sick again, and return to
work again, each period of your sick leave up to 26 consecutive weeks is
included in the calculation of your length of service for redundancy payment
purposes.

What is a reasonable alternative ?

If your employer makes you a reasonable offer of alternative work, and you
refuse it, you may lose your entitlement to a redundancy payment. What is
reasonable depends on the facts of each case. Generally speaking, alternatives
which involve a loss of status or lessening of the terms and conditions would
not be considered reasonable. Likewise, you may be justified in refusing an
offer that involves you travelling an unreasonable distance to work.

What is the difference between short time for redundancy purposes as
opposed to social welfare purposes?

In redundancy legislationshort
time is defined as a situation where, due to a reduction in the amount of
work to be done, your pay or hours are less than half the normal weekly amount.
This must be a temporary situation and your employer must notify you before the
reduction starts.

For social welfare purposes the definition of short-time
employment is employment in which, for the time being, the number of days
systematically worked in a working week is less than the normal number of days
in a working week in the employment concerned.

How does accepting reduced working hours or pay affect my redundancy
payment later on ?

If you were made redundant within one year of being put on reduced
hours or pay, your redundancy payment would be based on your earnings for a
full week. If you are made redundant after working reduced hours for more than
a year, how your payment will be calculated depends on whether you accepted
being on reduced hours or not. If you fully accepted the reduced working hours
as your normal week and never asked to return to full-time work, then your
redundancy payment will be based on your gross pay for the reduced working
hours. If, on the other hand, you never accepted the reduced working hours as
your normal hours and continually asked to be put back on full-time working,
then it is clear you did not accept your reduced working hours as normal. If
you have a dispute about this with your employer you could make a claim to the
Employment Appeals Tribunal.

How will short time affect my redundancy payment?

If you have been put on short time and then are made redundant your
redundancy payment may be based on your pay for a full week. It has been the
view of the Employment Appeals Tribunal that when a person is put on short
time, that is, less than half their normal weekly earnings, the gross wage for
the calculation of a redundancy lump sum is based on a full week's pay.

I have been on short-time working for 2 months and my employer is
now making me redundant. Is my entitlement to notice based on my short-time
hours?

No. When your employer gives you notice, your notice
entitlement is based on your full-time work. When you were put on
short-time work, your contract of employment was temporarily suspended. When
your employer decided to make you redundant, he or she had to re-activate your
contract in order to dismiss you on grounds of redundancy. If you were made
redundant and you were not required to work out your notice you are entitled to
payment in lieu of notice which is your normal pay for that notice period. This
means that your notice entitlement is based on the hours of work in your
contract of employment, not on the short-time hours of work.

Can I be made redundant if I am on sick leave?

If your employer decides to make you redundant while you are on sick leave,
you may qualify to bring a claim for unfair
dismissal. Unless your employer can prove there was a genuine
redundancy situation and that fair
procedures were followed, your dismissal may be found to be unfair. Even if
a genuine redundancy situation exists, you may bring a claim for unfair
dismissal if you consider that you were unfairly selected for redundancy. Your
employer should apply selection criteria that are reasonable and are applied in
a fair manner.

Can I be made redundant if I am on carer's leave?

If you are dismissed on grounds of redundancy, while on carer’s
leave, under the Carer’s Leave Act 2001 it would be considered unfair
dismissal. If your employer does not allow you to return to work at the end of
your carer’s leave you may qualify to bring a claim under the Unfair
Dismissals Acts 1977-2007. However you may be made redundant after you have
returned to work.

Can I be made redundant if I am on maternity leave?
No, you may not be made redundant while on maternity
leave or additional maternity leave. You may be made redundant when you
return to work or while you are pregnant before you go on maternity leave.
However if you are selected for redundancy because you are pregnant, you may
qualify to bring a claim for unfair dismissal. Selection for redundancy based
on certain grounds such as pregnancy is considered unfair under the unfair
dismissals legislation.

My employer says he cannot afford to pay my redundancy, what should
I do?

If your employer has not paid your redundancy lump sum, you should apply to
your employer for it using form RP77
(pdf). If your employer still refuses to pay it, you can apply to the
Department of Social Protection for direct payment from the Social Insurance
Fund. It must be done online using form RP50 as follows:

If your employer is unable to pay your redundancy lump sum, he should
sign the RP50 and submit a letter from an accountant or solicitor stating
he is unable to pay and for 100% of the lump sum (85% for a dismissal in
2012) owing to the Social Insurance Fund. Documentary evidence such as
audited accounts should also be included.

If your employer refuses to pay your redundancy lump sum or if there is a
dispute about redundancy you can bring a claim to the Employment
Appeals Tribunal. You must use the new online complaint form (available
by selecting ‘Make a complaint in relation to employment rights’ on workplacerelations.ie).
This must be done within one year of your dismissal. Then you apply for
your lump sum by sending a completed form RP50 together with a favourable
decision from the Employment Appeals Tribunal.

How are overtime and bonuses and profit sharing used in calculating
my weekly wage for Redundancy purposes?

The weekly wage for redundancy purposes is your gross pay before tax and
PRSI deductions. It is calculated by adding together your gross weekly wage,
average regular overtime and benefits-in-kind up to a maximum of €600 a week.

Average weekly overtime earnings are calculated as follows:

First, find the total amount of overtime earned in the period of 26 weeks
ending 13 weeks before the date of redundancy

Then, divide the total by 26 to get the average weekly overtime earnings

My organisation went under a transfer of undertaking last year,
business is slow now, what happens if I am made redundant?

Under the European Communities (Protection of Employees on Transfer of
Undertakings) Regulations 2003 your new employer is legally obliged to take on
the existing employees of the business. The terms and conditions and your
employer’s obligations in your contract of employment are automatically transferred
to your new employer. Neither the previous nor the new employer can use the
fact of the sale as a justification for dismissing employees unless there are
valid economic, technical, or organisational grounds justifying changes in the
workforce. Dismissal on economic, technical, or organisational grounds is a
redundancy and, if you qualify, you may be entitled to a redundancy lump sum.
If you are made redundant, continuous service is based on service with your new
employer and your previous employer.

I have been working on a fixed-term contract for the last 2 years.
Am I entitled to a redundancy payment when my contract ends?

If you are employed under a fixed-term
contract, and you have worked continuously for your employer for at least
104 weeks when your contract ends, you may qualify for a redundancy payment.

I am a seasonal worker, how do I qualify for redundancy ? Does the
104 weeks apply to my time off ?

If you are a seasonal worker who has at least 104 weeks service with your
employer you may qualify for redundancy. The 104 weeks does not include the
time you are off work. The question of redundancy does not arise until the
usual time when your seasonal work would start. If you are not re-employed
then, you may be entitled to a redundancy payment.

Is an apprentice entitled to a redundancy payment?

An apprentice who is made redundant during the apprenticeship may qualify
for a redundancy payment provided they meet the conditions such as 2 years'
service over the age of 16. However an apprentice who is dismissed within one
month of the end of the apprenticeship will not qualify for a
redundancy payment.

If an apprentice is kept on as an employee for more than a month after the
apprenticeship ended and is subsequently made redundant, the time spent as an
apprentice aged over 16 will count in the redundancy payment calculation.

If my employer does not offer the 30 day consultation process in the
case of a collective redundancy what can I do about it ?

Collective redundancies come under the Protection of Employment Acts
1977-2007, which requires that both the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and
Innovation and employees’ representatives should be consulted at least 30
days before being given notice of redundancy. If your employer has not complied
with the requirement for a 30-day consultation process you may make a complaint
to a Rights
Commissioner that your employer has contravened Section 9 or 10 of the 1977
Act in relation to information and consultation of employees.

If I am made redundant and I then get an offer of work from my
previous employer, will this affect my redundancy payment?

If your employer offers you alternative work, you may lose your entitlement
to a redundancy payment in the following circumstances:

If you accept a new contract or re-engagement with immediate effect and
the terms do not differ from those of the previous contract

If your employer makes you a reasonable offer of alternative work, and
you refuse it

If you accept an offer in writing from your employer for a new and
different contract which will take effect within 4 weeks of the ending of
the previous contract. Equally, if you refuse such an offer unreasonably,
you may lose your right to a redundancy payment.

Redundancy proceduresThere are a number of procedures employers must follow when making staff redundant. Find out about these procedures and how your rights are set down in law.

Contact Us

If you have a question relating to this topic you can contact the Citizens Information Phone Service on 0761 07 4000 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 8pm) or you can visit your local Citizens Information Centre.